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With a potential $30 billion price tag on recovery from Hurricane Helene, Florida Senator Rick Scott says that FEMA needs more money to fulfill the federal response.
Sen. Scott and other Florida lawmakers are calling for Congress to convene a special session to allocate more money to FEMA for disaster response. Congress is not scheduled to return to the Hill until after the November election. Scott says FEMA needs the money now.
Scott says FEMA clearly needs money to help respond to the fiscal needs of governors whose states were devasted by Hurricane Helene and is hopeful this will be a bipartisan effort.
“Floridians are resilient, but the response and recovery from this storm demands the full and immediate support of government at every level to get families and businesses back to normal,” Scott said in a statement. “While we wait for this critical information, I will keep fighting to make sure that FEMA, the SBA, and the entire federal government are working in total collaboration with state and local officials, so we continue to get resources and aid deployed quickly.”
Scott’s comments came after President Joe Biden said yesterday that he “may have to request” Congress to return to pass some sort of disaster relief legislation.